The price of gas: the hidden costs of European banks’ support for gas power expansion

Between 2021 and 2024, European banks provided US$41.9 billion to companies developing over 320 new gas power plants globally, with 63% of this funding coming from a small group of French and UK banks. The report links gas reliance to electricity price volatility, air pollution causing premature deaths, and the climate crisis, urging banks to shift funding from gas expansion to renewables.

• European banks provided US$41.9 billion to companies developing new gas power plants from 2021 to 2024, with 63% of that funding originating from French and UK banks, specifically BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Groupe BPCE, Société Générale, Barclays, HSBC, and Standard Chartered. During this period, the 24 largest European banks supported the development of more than 320 new gas plants globally.
• Gas power expansion is associated with significant economic and health risks: EU gas prices rose by over 532% between January 2021 and August 2022, and a 2026 attack on Iran caused EU power costs to increase by more than 50% in ten days. Additionally, air pollution from approximately 570 gas power plants in the UK and EU27 caused up to 2,864 premature deaths in 2019.
• Nearly half (48%) of the financing for gas power expansion is directed toward countries that have pledged to reach net-zero by 2050 or earlier, including Italy, France, and the UK, some of which aim to decarbonize electricity by 2035.

APA

Manickawasagar, A. (2026). The price of gas: the hidden costs of European banks’ support for gas power expansion. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2026/04/08/the-price-of-gas-the-hidden-costs-of-european-banks-support-for-gas-power-expansion/

Chicago

Manickawasagar, Aatiraï. The price of gas: the hidden costs of European banks’ support for gas power expansion. Reclaim Finance, 2026. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2026/04/08/the-price-of-gas-the-hidden-costs-of-european-banks-support-for-gas-power-expansion/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Manickawasagar |first1=Aatiraï |title=The price of gas: the hidden costs of European banks’ support for gas power expansion |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=7 April 2026 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2026/04/08/the-price-of-gas-the-hidden-costs-of-european-banks-support-for-gas-power-expansion/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{manickawasagar2026price, author = {Manickawasagar, Aatiraï}, title = {{The price of gas: the hidden costs of European banks’ support for gas power expansion}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2026/04/08/the-price-of-gas-the-hidden-costs-of-european-banks-support-for-gas-power-expansion/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }